26 February 2004
Senior U.S. Military Official Foresees Long-Term Peace in Colombia
Peter Pace says terrorists' days in Colombia are numbered
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The narco-terrorist groups operating in Colombia will continue to conduct kidnappings and other terrorist acts for present time, but their days are "numbered," says General Peter Pace, who as vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff is the second-highest-ranking officer in the U.S. armed forces.
Speaking to reporters February 25 at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Pace said that despite recent terrorist attacks on government forces in the Andean country, he foresees long-term peace eventually coming to Colombia.
The terrorists "may very well try to kidnap individuals, they may very well try to conduct other terrorist acts, and there will be some of that in the future, for sure," said Pace. But there is "no doubt in my mind" that the Colombian government is focused on bringing peace to the nation and on rebuilding democratic institutions throughout Colombia, he added.
"In the long term, peace and prosperity" will prevail in Colombia, and the terrorists' days are numbered, said Pace.
Colombia has been the scene of a four-decade-old civil war, and is the world's biggest supplier of cocaine. Outlawed narco-terrorist groups in the country use the profits made from cocaine to finance their fight against the Colombian government. Pace expressed optimism that the administration of Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe will eventually defeat the guerrilla insurgency.
Citing such narco-terrorist organizations as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), Pace said that the Colombian people want these outlawed groups "to become part of the society again and stop their terrorist acts." As the terrorist groups "see the strength" of the Colombian government and its armed forces, "they recognize that your elected officials and your security forces [in Colombia] are getting stronger and stronger in this war against terror inside" the Andean nation.
Pace said that since his last visit to Colombia in September 2001, the situation in Colombia is "really much improved in many aspects." On this current trip to Colombia, Pace -- the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Southern Command -- was meeting with Colombian government officials and the military leadership.
Pace said the United States is working very closely with Colombia on resolving the hostage situation of three U.S. government contractors who were kidnapped by the FARC in February 2003. The U.S. State Department has designated the FARC as a foreign terrorist organization, responsible for much of the violence stemming from Colombia's civil war.
The hostage situation is a "very high priority" for both the United States and Colombia, Pace said. The United States, he said, is working closely with Colombia on sharing intelligence, information, and ideas.
"But beyond that I would not want to go, because I would not want our enemies to know what we are thinking," said Pace.
Pace said he was "delighted" by Colombia's success in January in capturing a FARC leader, Ricardo Palmera Pineda, also known as Simon Trinidad. Pace said he is glad this "narco-terrorist" has been captured and "taken off the battlefield." Palmera is listed by the U.S. Treasury Department as a suspected international drug "kingpin."
The Colombian government's capture of Palmera "is one more very positive step in a series of positive steps that have resulted in the capture and killing of some senior leadership of the FARC," Pace said.
Moreover, "what is good for peace and democracy in Colombia is also good for the United States," he added. "We have been friends for many years. You are standing by us in the war on terrorism; we are standing by you in your internal war on terrorism. We are friends ... [and] our friendship and cooperation will continue."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=February&x=20040226131747AEneerG0.9482996&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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